As mentioned in my Current Favorites post, I have been spending a lot of my spare time painting with watercolors recently. Watercolor is literally the easiest form of art. All you need is a paint set, brushes, and some water. (Oh, and of course, some creativity!)
Today's project was different from previous ones I have done because it was very text heavy. Of course when you think of painting you think of real pictures and people and images, but today I thought I would take a swing at it and do a typographic poster for one of my very close friends, Rebecca, and her family. It was a very lonnngggg process that included a lot of Pinterest and PicMonkey, but I think the overall painting turned out great. So, I'll share with you my creative process!
one // Know what you want to say.
I guess it's a pretty obvious step but definitely one of the most important! Figure out what you want to write: a significant quote, a bible verse, a famous saying, or even just a funny inside joke! Be creative here, but if you are stuck, Pinterest is a great place to look up some inspirational words.
two // Know how you want to say it.
This part is a little tricky and requires the most creativity. Imagine how you want the words you have chose to appear. Do you just want to write it in your handwriting and give it a personal feel? Do you want it to be in different fonts and colors? How will you arrange the words? I know, there are so many different options!! I decided to go for a typographic feel and arrange the words and fonts strategically. If you decide to go with this route, let me tell you, it's tough and takes a while. I used PicMonkey to make a "blueprint" using free fonts I found and liked. This is just a rough sketch, I ended up changing a few elements here and there, but it is extremely helpful as a reference.
three // Put it on paper!Finally. You get to paint. Watercolor is very simple: Just wet your brush and choose your color. For something like this with a lot of text, you don't have to mix the paint on a separate palette unless you want a specific color. Have fun with this part! You don't need to "learn how to use watercolor" with a project like this one. Just let your words flow and DO NOT USE TOO MUCH WATER. (this is crucial) Make sure you have a good brush selection for the bold and thin lettering. It was pretty easy with my huge palette to get the color I wanted but even with the 8-color palette you could virtually get any color you want by messing with colors. Here, I roughly sketched out the words in pencil and then proceeded to paint over it.
four // Add the details.
Once you finish the wording, add in a few pops of color here and there to really make the words stand out. You could do without this part, but I personally think it can really transform a painting if you do it right. Here I just added a few yellow accents to keep it simple but watercolor flowers are great accents as well.
This is my favorite step. Step back and look at what you've created. If you think it's missing something it's not too late! Edit all you want but be content with the piece of art you've made in the end. I'm sure it is beautiful!
*I got most of my tools from Target-- they have a great new range of art supplies meant for kids that is really affordable and nice quality for beginners.
Have fun and good luck!
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